First photos of new Kia Forte sedan
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Four official product photos of the new Kia Forte sedan has been released by Kia. It will hit Korean showrooms first in August 2008, with the rest of the world to get it later, including Malaysia as a new Cerato or Forte sedan. The current Cerato is sold here as a 5-door hatch, but a sedan from this current generation is not likely to be introduced with Naza Kia management most probably deciding to skip the current generation Cerato sedan and going straight for this new Forte.
The new Kia Forte is more angular and up to date with current design trends compared to its predecessor. While Europe gets the cee’d, this model is the cee’d’s equivalent for the rest of the world. So while exterior styling is radically different from the cee’d (which is a hatch in the first place), expect the interior to follow the cee’d’s interior design closely. It’s quite good looking indeed.
The rear looks like the current generation Hyundai Elantra we have here in our market, but the shoulder profile thankfully misses the odd Audi A5-like wave that the Elantra has. The front end sports Kia’s new corporate nose that is also found on the facelifted Optima.
1.6 liter and 2.0 liter CVVT engines will be offered, but the cee’d’s 1.6 liter VGT turbodiesel is a question mark at this point as the markets where this car will be introduced are not really mad about diesel.
Kia intends to introduce a two-door coupe version of this Forte later, which will more closely resemble the KIA KOUP Concept that this Forte was based on.
View three more photos after the jump.
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July 2, 2008 @ 11:18 pm
nice! very sporty looks!
guess there would be a sport variant also in pipeline… (maybe a 2.0L Turbocharged/VGT)
July 2, 2008 @ 11:22 pm
very clean design. i like it.
July 2, 2008 @ 11:33 pm
God bless Peter Schreyer!
July 2, 2008 @ 11:38 pm
I smell copycat,mioowww…..didint u folks feel that it looks like Mitsubishi Lancer?Especially the view from the side & rear…This is the new episode of Hyundai Sonata,which almost copy from new Camry & Accord…Haiz,donno when will Korean cars going to have their own designed car again…
July 2, 2008 @ 11:44 pm
maybe the designers behind this car has done a copy cat job or whatever, but that’s fine, coz this car looks good!!!
look a lot like a mini Lexus with Civic 3dr Type-R front profile, and the rear looks better than Altis and Elantra…..
July 2, 2008 @ 11:46 pm
mytouch, i agree
July 2, 2008 @ 11:50 pm
This really a pleasant looking car. Although i do agree it does has some lancer EX influence i think it’s ok because usually the whole industry follows the styles of popular cars.
July 2, 2008 @ 11:55 pm
hmm.. honda at front … lexus at back… mix…
July 2, 2008 @ 11:59 pm
nice looking car, looks kinda like Honda Accord Euro R.
but totally different spectrum.
i wonder if the resale value is gonna plummet like hell if it’s sold here though, as with other korean brands.
but still, pretty damn good looking car.
July 3, 2008 @ 12:14 am
Wow! Thats a nicely design exterior of a sedan! If the interior is as good or better than the current elantra, then it will be a killer!
July 3, 2008 @ 12:33 am
I wonder how much is 1.6 and 2.0 for this model?
July 3, 2008 @ 1:17 am
mytouch said,
July 2, 2008 @ 11:38 pm
Sonata copying new CAMRY? Are you noob or what.
July 3, 2008 @ 4:42 am
one sweet looking ride… where do they get their designers from.. mix of asian and euro styles as most have mentioned. the front looks like a civic, the rear to me looks like a bmw3/mitsu lancer mix….
July 3, 2008 @ 7:10 am
Good cut and paste work by the designers. Civic’s face, Lancer’s side profiles, Hyundai’s back. Still our Malaysian don’t ever trust Korean car.
July 3, 2008 @ 7:47 am
But of course, Japanese is always the best, even if the cylinder head cracks, brake rotors warp, power window fails, front window leaks water into car, puddles of water collect on floor, a-pillar plastic falls off, brake caliper gets loose. It doesn’t matter. Japanese cars are always good for Malaysians! They’re the BEST!
July 3, 2008 @ 8:27 am
i owned cerata hb/ spectra5.
so far not much problems compare to latio 1.6 1st batch..
who say korean car is not improving?
but as usually they suffered from ‘copy-cat/multiple personality’
disorder..
haaahahaahahah
July 3, 2008 @ 9:06 am
one thing that impressed me about the Korean is ther determination. They set a goal and pursue it relentlessly. Probably they know their survival hang on their success outside their own market.
Samsung came fr a OEM to a major force in Electronic. Hyundai/Kia set a goal to be the global top 5 auto manufacturer and now they have made it.
This Forte and also their new breed of car is just a delight. Kinda show that underdog don’t necessary mean cheap and cheerful. Even recently there was rumour that Merc approach Hyundai for their in-line petrol engine…!!!
Too bad, the rest of the world still think of Korean as cut&paste and outdated technology. This Forte is really good looking. i wonder how the interior will be…???
Take away the Kia badge and slap a JDM title to the Forte, i think most of us will be craving for it.
July 3, 2008 @ 9:41 am
Proton wake up !
Your close competitor has improved so much, and you are still making the same good-ole Perdana, Waja, Wira, Iswara…
July 3, 2008 @ 9:54 am
exterior..cantik!
nak 1!
July 3, 2008 @ 10:05 am
Nice man… it’s amazing how far Kia has come
July 3, 2008 @ 10:45 am
Wow, Another good looking Korean car. Now they are really quite competent nowadays and they can be compared with the Japs as well. Although technologically they might still be slightly outdated. I am imagining having the facelifted optima for myself, this spectra sedan for my wife…. Wow, I am a Korean car lover! haha
July 3, 2008 @ 11:56 am
“good-ole Perdana, Waja, Wira, Iswara…”
White Jack, where have you been all this time, in space?
wira and iswara are no longer produced and proton has launched 2 cars since 2007, persona and saga. Also, korean car makers have been around and building cars before proton even existed. So its rightly so that they should be reaching the level that they are today.
This is definitely the best looking 4 door massmarket car from korea yet.
July 3, 2008 @ 12:11 pm
wow.. impressive design, the front look also resembles to new Honda city spy shot. no wonder Kia will always be remembered as copycat manufacturer in ‘mostly’ everyone mind.. still find their own identity like ploton?
July 3, 2008 @ 12:54 pm
Wow!!! I want one… Verryyy sportyyy, veryyy sleeekkk. Definately the Koreans are improving. Good, at least more choices in the market.
July 3, 2008 @ 12:55 pm
handsome giler!… I’ll definitely look more handsome inside the car. Everything look in place. I would normally dissapointed looking at a good looking car with hideous sport rims, but i know i’m not dissapointed with those rims. The body contours are marvellous. This is like the case when a straight guy spotted a another guy and said quitely, wow! what a handsome man, I would easily fall for him if i’m a woman.
July 3, 2008 @ 1:20 pm
Cantik jugak kereta ni…boleh kalahkan Persona…tapi macamana dengan harga??
July 3, 2008 @ 1:43 pm
IsaacVky said,
July 3, 2008 @ 1:17 am
mytouch said,
July 2, 2008 @ 11:38 pm
Sonata copying new CAMRY? Are you noob or what.
—————————————————
IssaacVky
I mean the front grill after putting up bodykit side larr,u nerd…
July 3, 2008 @ 2:15 pm
hafizzul said,
July 3, 2008 @ 1:20 pm
Cantik jugak kereta ni…boleh kalahkan Persona…tapi macamana dengan harga??
___________________________
Persona? It beats persona hands down just by looking at the shadows of both.
July 3, 2008 @ 2:17 pm
I hope it’ll be priced at 90k for 2.0.
July 3, 2008 @ 2:52 pm
mytouch said,
July 3, 2008 @ 1:43 pm
I hope you know when’s NF started production and when’s Camry came out. Noob
July 3, 2008 @ 6:18 pm
IsaacVky said,
July 3, 2008 @ 2:52 pm
Ok dear Mr.IssaccVky,sorry arr for insulting you with d word Nerds,mine mistake…cheers up dude : )
July 3, 2008 @ 6:29 pm
Copycat…..? so what??!! it is 10 times prettier than p1…….
July 3, 2008 @ 6:43 pm
Only problem is that this will not be that cheap. Gov make sure that Proton cars are cheaper anyway you look at it
July 3, 2008 @ 6:54 pm
when this car is not cheap as proton and maybe same price with other Japanese cars, a lot of people will buy Japanese cars rather than Korean cars because of the ‘badge’ and second hand value..
July 3, 2008 @ 8:27 pm
LOOKS LIKE LEXUS IS
July 3, 2008 @ 8:36 pm
to White Jack:
close competitor? lmao, not even close, they are much better..
July 3, 2008 @ 9:13 pm
They should introduce the turbodiesel version here. I would buy it.
July 3, 2008 @ 11:21 pm
hmm… no doubt a good looking car…
should be price around 2008 Hyundai Elantra for 2liter.. RM94k?
July 4, 2008 @ 1:43 am
Hyundai Elantra 2.0L is RM93,888. I wonder how much Forte 1.6L CVVT will be.
July 4, 2008 @ 1:15 pm
the old sonata had c-class front lights and jaguar’s back..they even mentioned it in their ad
the new sonata has a camry’s front..an accords back…now this has a civic uk-version’s front and a lexus is’s back…even the rims are similar to the lexus is..
haih
July 4, 2008 @ 2:02 pm
Is it a bad thing to have something resemble something else? Many say the Accord looks like the new C-Class from the front and Bangle-BMW styling at the rear but no one knocks it. I wonder why?
July 8, 2008 @ 6:25 pm
For a company that came out of no where since the 70’s and now they are the world top 5 car manufacture of the world…everyone should be giving them a credit! Everyone in here have their rights to give their two cents on this matter. Japan are great la, Korean car are copycat la…what ever! The fact is that the Korean ARE NOT but IS ALREADY improving on all their models.
Anyone who have the RIGHTS to condemn them are those who actually bought their models and have a feaking nightmare while owning them. Again, only KIA Malaysia that I found out very disturbing on their quality! On the matter of this car, I HAVE to say it’s darn pretty! A very good work that come out great to my eyes. So drop the copycat issue as they were a bad thing! I don’t give a damn as long it looks good. My concern is that KIA Malaysia have a lot to prove on their RELIABILITY!!
August 23, 2008 @ 7:00 pm
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